Fault Lines

Synopses & Reviews

Review:

"Winner of France's Prix Femina and shortlisted for the Orange Prize, Huston's 12th novel captures four generations of a family and examines the decades-long fallout of a dark family secret. The novel proceeds in reverse chronological order from 2004 to 1944 and begins with six-year-old Sol, who is sheltered and coddled by his mother as he immerses himself in all the perversities the Internet can offer. After surgery to remove Sol's congenital birthmark turns out poorly, the extended family takes a trip to great-grandmother Erra's childhood home in Munich. A turbulent history underlies the visit, and after Sol witnesses a tussle between his great-grandmother and great-aunt, the novel skips backwards in time through the childhood of Sol's father, Randall; grandmother Sadie; and finally Erra. Huston's brilliance is in how she gradually lets the reader in on the secret and draws out the revelation so carefully that by the time the reader arrives at the heart of the matter in Munich 1944, the discovery hits with blunt force. Huston masterfully links the 20th century's misery to 21st-century discomfort in razor-sharp portraits of children as they lose their innocence." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

A best seller in France, with over 400,000 copies sold, and currently being translated into eighteen languages, Fault Lines is the new novel from internationally-acclaimed and best-selling author Nancy Huston. Huston's novel is a profound and poetic story that traces four generations of a single family from present-day California to WW II&uml;Cera Germany. Fault Lines begins with Sol, a gifted, terrifying child whose mother believes he is destined for greatness partly because he has a birthmark like his dad, his grandmother, and his great-grandmother. When Sol's family makes an unexpected trip to Germany, secrets begin to emerge about their history during World War II. It seems birthmarks are not all that's been passed down through the bloodlines. Closely observed, lyrically told, and epic in scope, Fault Lines is a touching, fearless, and unusual novel about four generations of children and their parents. The story moves from the West Coast of the United States to the East, from Haifa to Toronto to Munich, as secrets unwind back through time until a devastating truth about the family's origins is reached. Huston tells a riveting, vigorous tale in which love, music, and faith rage against the shape of evil.

Synopsis:

From internationally acclaimed and bestselling author Huston comes a profound and poetic story that traces four generations of a single family from present-day California to World War II-era Germany.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 2 comments:

Denise Barnett, May 7, 2012 (view all comments by Denise Barnett)
This is a heartbreaking yet beautiful tale told from each child of a generation going backwards - ending with the great grandmother from the beginning as a child. It really opens up each person to a new perspective because you first meet them as an adult then you go back to see the child they were and why they became the way they did. Such an intriguing way to approach this story of this interesting family and the stories they tell.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)

pascarelli, December 17, 2009 (view all comments by pascarelli)
It is alway a risk to tell a story backwards. By that I mean because after the reader has pieced the pieces together the payoff isn't always there. Thankfully this is not the case in Fault Lines. Huston's choice of 1st person narrative was a little weird however and too often the children sounded like adults. It was hard for me to believe that each child has such a degree of control over language. Overall this is a very unsettling and powerful read-- and a healthy antidote to all the child as innocent books out there; six-year old Sol is downright demented. In their preoccupation with all things holocaust (oi) I can see why this was such a bestseller in Europe (rememnber how CRAZY the French went for Jonathan Littell's The Kindly Ones?. But feeding the nazi war machine is only the ostensinble subject matter of this book. Those looking for a more rigorous read should check out Tranquility by Hugarian writer Attila Bartis. It's his first book to appear in English and I hope they put a fire under the publisher's a#!^ to get more of his writings out in print here in the States(Archipelago). -LP

Related Subjects

"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"Winner of France's Prix Femina and shortlisted for the Orange Prize, Huston's 12th novel captures four generations of a family and examines the decades-long fallout of a dark family secret. The novel proceeds in reverse chronological order from 2004 to 1944 and begins with six-year-old Sol, who is sheltered and coddled by his mother as he immerses himself in all the perversities the Internet can offer. After surgery to remove Sol's congenital birthmark turns out poorly, the extended family takes a trip to great-grandmother Erra's childhood home in Munich. A turbulent history underlies the visit, and after Sol witnesses a tussle between his great-grandmother and great-aunt, the novel skips backwards in time through the childhood of Sol's father, Randall; grandmother Sadie; and finally Erra. Huston's brilliance is in how she gradually lets the reader in on the secret and draws out the revelation so carefully that by the time the reader arrives at the heart of the matter in Munich 1944, the discovery hits with blunt force. Huston masterfully links the 20th century's misery to 21st-century discomfort in razor-sharp portraits of children as they lose their innocence." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Synopsis"
by Firebrand,

A best seller in France, with over 400,000 copies sold, and currently being translated into eighteen languages, Fault Lines is the new novel from internationally-acclaimed and best-selling author Nancy Huston. Huston's novel is a profound and poetic story that traces four generations of a single family from present-day California to WW II&uml;Cera Germany. Fault Lines begins with Sol, a gifted, terrifying child whose mother believes he is destined for greatness partly because he has a birthmark like his dad, his grandmother, and his great-grandmother. When Sol's family makes an unexpected trip to Germany, secrets begin to emerge about their history during World War II. It seems birthmarks are not all that's been passed down through the bloodlines. Closely observed, lyrically told, and epic in scope, Fault Lines is a touching, fearless, and unusual novel about four generations of children and their parents. The story moves from the West Coast of the United States to the East, from Haifa to Toronto to Munich, as secrets unwind back through time until a devastating truth about the family's origins is reached. Huston tells a riveting, vigorous tale in which love, music, and faith rage against the shape of evil.

"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
From internationally acclaimed and bestselling author Huston comes a profound and poetic story that traces four generations of a single family from present-day California to World War II-era Germany.

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